The Olympic Stadium may not be ready in time
Reports today in The Express have sensationally claimed that West Ham will be without a stadium if they qualify for the Europa League.
If Manchester United beat Crystal Palace this weekend, it would mean that we have secured Europa League for another season. But we would be entering in the early rounds again. There is a good chance that we would be drawn at home for one of the matches that are scheduled for the 28th July and 4th August.
Currently “UK Athletics have exclusive priority to the sports venue up until August 1, with events also scheduled between August 22-24.” The Express go on to reveal that it takes seven days to complete the turnaround into the Olympic Stadium being a football ground again, meaning that it wouldn’t be ready for either Europa League game.
The solution suggested by The Express are, “West Ham must either find an alternative venue to play the match at, or they’ll have to ask UEFA for special permission to change a home first leg for an away one if drawn that way.” If it was the latter, then I’m sure the turnaround could be sped up.
The latter is more likely, and I’m sure the Davids would have thought about this when planning for next season, considering Europa League was a high possibility.
It would be great to see the Juventus game as the first official game at the Olympic Stadium, rather than a random Europa League team that could well be unheard of in this country. The Juventus match would be the ideal opener, and hopefully the club can work their way around this dilemma if it happens.
